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Rare Identical Triplets Born in California

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by Melissa Willets on December 06, 2013

Melissa Willets

About the Author

Melissa Willets is a mom of three girls, one of whom is a
newborn. She writes about pregnancy, parenting, home, health, and beauty. She
loves running and drinking red wine - but never <a href="#">simultaneously</a>.

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

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Rare identical triplets who were conceived naturally were born in California late last month. While new parents Hannah and Tom Hepner have been informed of how unique their situation is, they say statistics cease to matter once your babies are born.

The new mom explained to the Sacramento Bee that the "one-in-a-million" description of her daughters Laurel, Brin, and Abby "loses its relevance when you are holding them. It did happen and they are here."

Still, the medical director of the hospital where Hepner delivered pointed out that births like this one are "so rare that it is hard to calculate how frequently they occur."

An identical triplet pregnancy is so rare because one fertilized egg splits into three embryos and all babies share a placenta — a phenomenon typically only occurs with the use of fertility drugs. (In the case of fraternal multiples, the fetuses don't share a placenta.)

I'm truly impressed by how the Hepners are taking the birth of their triplets in stride. The California mama makes a great point about statistics seeming irrelevant when you are staring at your newborn babies. What's important is that the girls are here, healthy, and loved.

That being said, the new dad-of-three is still open to joking about the rarity of having conceived identical triplets without the use of any fertility treatments.

"We are thinking of bottling the water in Quincy and offering it as a fertility treatment," Hepner cracked, referring to the town where the family lives.

I know a lot of couples who would willingly drink that water. But I'd be very intimidated personally. Caring for triplets seems very overwhelming! Still, I'm willing to bet that with the Hepners' senses of humor and down-to-earth attitudes about their new brood, they will do just fine. Here's wishing them every happiness — and chance to sleep once in a while — as they embark on the journey of raising their three girls.

What is your reaction to reading about the births of these rare identical triplets?

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